Somali terror case: Judge jails defendant

A man facing a terrorism-conspiracy sentencing who has been out on bond for nearly three years has been jailed.

Omer Abdi Mohamed, 27, allegedly violated terms of his release by giving a probation officer false information about work -- a claim his attorney denies.

U.S. Magistrate Franklin Noel issued a warrant for Mohamed's arrest on Friday, Oct. 19, and he was picked up that evening. During a brief hearing Monday, the judge revoked Mohamed's release and ordered prosecutors and the man's lawyer to submit letters "explaining their respective position of detention or release" by noon.

They did so, but the government's letter was filed under seal. In the afternoon, Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis reconvened the hearing for 10 minutes and granted the government's request for temporary detention.

Mohamed will appear before Davis on Wednesday for a hearing on the revocation of his release.

In his letter to Noel, defense lawyer Peter Wold said Mohamed denied he gave false information.

The St. Anthony man had been free since November 2009, when he was indicted for his alleged role in the exodus of Twin Cities men to Somalia to fight for the militant group al-Shabaab. He is among 18 people charged in "Operation Rhino," the FBI's investigation into recruitment and travel of men to join the rebel group.

Advertisement

In July 2011, on the day before his trial was to begin in Davis' court, Mohamed admitted to a single count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and prosecutors said they'd drop five other counts.

Mohamed acknowledged being part of a small band of men who discussed traveling to Somalia. He said their aim was to fight Ethiopians who "invaded our country" and committed "a lot of atrocities."

Davis allowed the father of two to remain free while he awaited sentencing.

That freedom came to an abrupt end Friday evening after Noel signed a warrant for Mohamed's arrest. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office would say only that the matter involved information Mohamed allegedly gave probation officers about his employment.

In his letter to Noel, Wold wrote, "Mr. Mohamed denies the allegation," adding that the court order granting pretrial release "does not explicitly require he maintain or actively seek employment."

Mohamed is among six "Rhino" defendants who have pleaded guilty and await sentencing; another who pleaded guilty has served a three-month sentence for lying to the FBI.

Only one defendant, Mahamud Said Omar, 46, of Minneapolis, took his case to trial. Last week, a jury found him guilty of five counts; the government's witnesses included four of the men who took government deals.

Mohamed was not among them, but the other witnesses mentioned him as being part of the conspiracy.

Eight of those charged are fugitives and two are believed dead.

After his client accepted the government's offer, Wold said he had concerns whether "a devout Muslim man today (can) be afforded the presumption of innocence."

In his letter to Noel, the lawyer said the government "is quick to remind this court that this matter relates to terrorism," and that a prosecutor "raised a vague allegation of concerns related to testimony" in Omar's trial.

In an interview, Wold said Mohamed "never violated any conditions (of his release), and clearly there were unflattering things said about him, that we totally disagree with, during the trial."

He noted in his letter to Noel that depending on how federal sentencing guidelines are applied, Mohamed could face from five years and three months in prison to 30 years.

"For three years he has not attempted to flee, (and) there is nothing before this court to suggest that has changed," Wold wrote.